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Three members of the Senate Elections subcommittee look over papers prior to a meeting Jan. 7, 1975, in Washington to discuss the seating of New Hampshire's junior senator, From left: Sens. Robert Griffin of Michigan, Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island and Robert Byrd of West Virginia. | AP Photo

Narrowest contest in Senate annals decided, Sept. 16, 1975

The closest election in Senate history was decided on this day in 1975 with the seating of New Hampshire Democrat John Durkin in the wake of a race that pitted Durkin against Republican Louis Wyman.

Although Wyman initially led in the polls, the Watergate scandal helped turn 1974 into a Democratic year. On Election Day, Wyman initially was thought to have won by 355 votes. Durkin demanded a recount, which shifted the victory to him by 10 votes.

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The governor, a Republican, reluctantly certified Durkin as the winner — only to have Wyman demand another recount. This time, the state ballot commission ruled Wyman had won by two votes. With his certificate of election now withdrawn, Durkin appealed the issue to the Senate. At the time, the Democrats held a 60-vote majority in the upper chamber.

On Jan. 13, 1975, the day before the new Congress convened, the Committee on Rules and Administration failed to resolve the issue. Composed of five Democrats and three Republicans, the Rules panel deadlocked 4-4 on a proposal to seat Wyman pending a review. Sen. James Allen (D-Ala.) voted with the Republicans, holding that Wyman had presented valid credentials.

The Senate took up the case the next day, with Durkin and Wyman seated at separate tables at the rear of the chamber. It decided to refer the issue back to the Rules Committee, whose staffers examined 3,500 questionable ballots that had been shipped to Washington. These disputed ballots, in turn, raised 35 legal points. The panel referred them to the full Senate, which spent the next six weeks debating them. After six cloture votes, it managed to resolve only one of them.

The impasse was finally broken when the Senate declared the seat vacant and called for a special election. Durkin won it, six weeks later, by some 27,000 votes.

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When asked about the experience of going through such a long-contested election in 2008, Durkin told The Associated Press that he wouldn’t wish the experience on his worst enemy.

“I’d much rather have read about it than have lived it,” he said. Having initially resisted the idea of holding a special election to resolve the matter, Durkin recalled in 2008 that it was eventually his daughter, 8 years old at the time, who helped change his mind: “She said, ‘Dad, don’t you realize they can’t make their mind up about anything?’” Durkin said. “When the kids realize it, I thought I had to do something.”

Warren Rudman, a former state attorney general, defeated Durkin in his 1980 Senate reelection bid. Durkin resigned six days before the end of his term, so Rudman could gain a seniority advantage over other newly elected senators.

Durkin resumed his law practice in Manchester. He sought New Hampshire’s remaining Senate seat in 1990 but was defeated by GOP Rep. Bob Smith. He died in 2012 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.